nd to dive down to the bottom!"

"Yes, that's a fine thing, truly," said the Hen. "You are clean gone
crazy. Ask the Cat about it,--he's the cleverest thing I know,--ask him
if he likes to swim in the water, or to dive down: I won't speak about
myself. Ask our mistress herself, the old woman; no one in the world
knows more than she. Do you think she wants to swim, and let the water
close above her head?"

"You don't understand me," said the Duckling.

"We don't understand you! Then pray who is to understand you? You surely
don't pretend to be cleverer than the Cat and the woman--I won't say
anything of myself. Don't make a fool of yourself, child, and thank your
Maker for all the good you have. Are you not come into a warm room, and
have you not folks about you from whom you can learn something? But you
are a goose, and it is not pleasant to have you about. You may believe
me, I speak for your good. I tell you things you won't like, and by that
one may always know one's true friends! Only take care that you learn to
lay eggs, or to purr, and to give out sparks!"

"I think I will go out into the wide world," said the Duckling.

"Yes, do go," replied the Hen.

And so the Duckling went away. He swam on the water, and dived, but he
was shunned by every creature because he was so ugly.

V--WHAT BECAME OF THE DUCKLING

Now came the fall of the year. The leaves in the wood turned yellow and
brown; the wind caught them so that they danced about, and up in the air
it was very cold. The clouds hung low, heavy with hail and snow-flakes,
and on the fence stood the raven, crying "Croak! croak!" for mere cold;
yes, one could freeze fast if one thought about it. The poor little
Duckling certainly had not a good time. One evening--the sun was just
going down in fine style--there came a whole flock of great handsome
birds out of the bushes; they were shining white, with long, supple
necks; they were swans. They uttered a very strange cry, spread forth
their glorious great wings, and flew away from that cold region to
warmer lands, to fair open lakes. They mounted so high, so high! and the
ugly Duckling had such a strange feeling as he saw them! He turned round
and round in the water like a wheel, stretched out his neck towards
them, and uttered a cry, so high, so strange, that he was frightened as
he heard it.

Oh! he could not forget those beautiful, happy birds; and as soon as he
could see them no longer, he dived down t